Harini Calamur's Writings
My column in today’s DNA This is an old story that exists in many cultures in slightly varying forms. And, despite its folksy nature, it still holds lessons for today – be it in interpersonal conduct or in international relations. Once upon…
My column in today’s DNA It has been a decade since al-Qaeda took the war in the Middle East to the doorsteps of the Americans. 9/11 became a watershed moment for the ‘War on Terror’, with the US and its allies recognising…
I was at JKD’s place. A visit long pending – she had fallen down a month ago. hurt her knee very badly. Ended up getting operated. We were generally chatting and catching up on films, life and other things when the call…
March 12th 1993. A time when Mumbai was still Bombay. Lokhandwalla was a set of buildings in progress, where gangs regularly went to war. Where In Orbit & Hypercity Malad were rubbish dumps, when the expressway didn’t exist, when Asiatic and Akbarally’s…
Two very different stories caught my attention today. Both are related to media coverage. One was in the Indian Express by Rajat Sharma, of India TV, quoting a former Army Chief – who had come into the channel to advice producers &…
A parliamentary democracy is made of checks and balances. There is a government and there is opposition. We don’t elect Gods, nor do we elect people with absolute power. The role of the Government is to ensure that they uphold the Constitution…
It is over. people dead. symbols destroyed. and a people stunned. 26/11 is going to be a date etched in our memory for ever – much like 9/11. I am at home watching three funerals that TV channels are broadcasting. Those of…
The second day of the horror. Terrorists rained bullets and grenades inside the city, its symbols and killed, and maimed. It is a military like operation – a small elite task force, fighting an urban battle. Except that, unlike the military it…
… it seems to be almost a pat sort of response. Bombs went off. People were killed, and maimed. And, a lot of us look upward to the skies and shout bastards…… it is a completely Pavlovian response. Bastards…..Bastards……it is just that…